


Words On Our Memories

by ValkyriaChronicler



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Aegis Swap (Xenoblade Chronicles 2), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alvis is Ontos, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Female Rex, Just kind of though, Multi, Not entirely Torna: Golden country compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-05 20:49:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20279614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValkyriaChronicler/pseuds/ValkyriaChronicler
Summary: (“Who exactly...are you?”“You may call me...Alvis.”They stood with their eyes locked on one another-gold meeting silver- neither moving an inch. And somehow the scene felt so familiar to Rie, like a long-forgotten memory gnawing at the back of her mind.)OROntos never leaves, instead it is Logos who gets warped to another dimension. And like a stone cast into a large body of water, the ripples are felt everywhere. By everyone.





	Words On Our Memories

The tolling of a bell stirred him awake. With a gentle wind brushing against him, he felt something prickling along the exposed patches of skin. His golden eyes flew open in bewildered astonishment and he rolled onto the balls of his feet and looked around.

Addam Origo stood, his confusion mounting further at not seeing anything recognizable in sight. He muttered to himself in a hushed tone. “Odd. I know I was in...Olethro ruins just a moment ago, so then why…?” He remembered standing in the middle of the Olethro ruins, reaching out to touch the core crystal of the other Aegis as it hovered in the air, exuding a powerful ether wavelength few could stand. He was in the midst of wrapping trembling fingers around it, then...nothing.

His eyes did a sweep of the terrain; the green grass of the field flattening under the wind in beautiful shimmering waves, each blade turning momentarily to reflect the brilliant sunlight pouring down. A cool draught of air whipped over his exposed skin, bringing the faint taste of the lake that lay just over the hill with it. Addam couldn’t recall seeing a more beautiful place in all his travels of Alrest.

In fact, there was a small inkling notion inside him that tells him this _ isn’t _Alrest. But then where…?

His golden eyes came to a halt as they spotted a lone figure standing near the very top of the hill, hidden underneath the shade of the tree there. He couldn’t help the sudden swell of relief upon realizing he wasn’t alone and broke off into a run.

“Uh, excuse me? Hello there!”

The closer he got the more he came to realize it was a boy: skin the color of smooth caramel while bathed in the glow of the sun, complemented by the choice of dark and light clothing he wore. Addam did wonder if he was hot in that jacket. Strands of short, unkempt silver glistened like he’d been bathing in moonlight.

The boy had an ethereal-like beauty to him that Addam found hard to dismiss.

“Uh…” His steps began to slow the closer he got and the stranger still didn’t turn.

“It’s...a mournful sound, isn’t it?” Addam floundered a bit, realizing the boy was referring to the bell, which had not stopped ringing since he awoke. “It hasn’t stopped I’m afraid, not since..._ they _left.” The boy added, an air of sadness hanging around him.

“They?” he repeated unsure as to who he was referencing. “Uh pardon me but, do you know where-”

“You’re looking for the Aegis.” The boy says finally turning, locking eyes with Addam-silver clashing against gold. Something in Addam clicked into a battle-ready state of mind. His fingers twitched with the sudden impulse to reach for the sword on his back. The mysterious boy’s eyes glistened brightly, cold and metallic, rivaling the most excellently polished suit of armor. 

“You...know about the Aegis?” Addam inquired, suddenly wary of how the boy seemed a little too at ease.

“And if I do? What would you do?” The boy asked, head tilted a tiny bit.

Addam stood tall and proud, not backing away nor proceeding to make a show of force. “Pardon, I merely wish to know if you come as a friend or foe,” Addam informed, holding the stranger’s stare -gold surveying silver once more- hearing him give out a thoughtful hum.

“I take it what you really mean to say is, are you with Mythra or against her?” Addam tensed upon hearing the golden-haired aegis’ name, immediately on guard. His hand barely brushing along the hilt of his sword when-

“A divine blade that stands above all others, given birth by the Architect himself to deliver divine judgement; an executioner whose light continuously purges the land of all hope and life.” Though the young lord could detect no real amount of malice in the words being spoken he was quick to pick up on the barest hint of sadness lingering in the silver-haired boy’s voice. “That _ is _what the people of Alrest are saying about her, is it not?”

For a moment Addam was stumped, debating how to proceed. His brow furrowed, pondering how to answer such a broad question. “People say many things about that which they do not fully understand, and more often than not the words spoken out of fear and grief cut deeper than any blade I know.”

The boy stares at Addam. And Addam stared back with unwavering eyes.

“Why she is doing the things she is right now I cannot say, but it is true she is killing innocents -maybe not all of them are- but children, livestock and even those just caught in between all the confusion and chaos. She may call herself a messiah, but slaughter is slaughter and I believe there is always a better way.”

“And...hence why you seek the aid of another Aegis?” The boy surmised calmly, his words polite but there was an iciness to them all the same. Just like with Mythra.

“How do you know of such things?” Addam demanded, gripping the hilt of his sword fully now. “Knowledge of the Aegis is known only to a select few, are you perhaps working with Mythra?” He drew his sword, leveling the sharp, glinting edge of the blade towards this mysterious stranger.

“I _ am _the Aegis. Or rather, I am one of them, the other you have already been made aware of it seems.” Addam visibly tensed wondering how this stranger could know so much, not quite trusting his words. “Just know when we came into contact, I glimpsed your memories. You are Addam Origo, crown prince of the kingdom Torna and you wish to stop the destruction caused by the other Aegis that is going on in Alrest.”

“I-...yes.” Addam relented, awed by the other’s powers. “But...I am no fool. Only an Aegis can hope to match another Aegis.” He dropped his gaze for just a moment, thinking back to horrendous remnants of power left by the other heavenly blade.

“You’re our only hope,” Addam said, lifting his gaze back up to meet the cold silver eyes, pleading almost. “Will you lend us _ your _power...as an Aegis?”

Silence permeated the surrounding area, and just when Addam thought the boy might refuse, he saw the barest hint of a grin spread along the younger-looking male’s face, and tried not to visibly sag with relief. He thought that perhaps there was still some semblance of hope to be had from this venture.

“Do you think it will be enough?” There was a cocky pull to the younger-looking male’s smile, watching him place a hand on his hip—a position Addam faintly recalled seeing from the other Aegis as well. “As I mentioned, I have glimpsed your memories, it would seem my counterparts’ actions to be the will of the Architect. Therefore, would it not be foolish to try and stand in the way of fate? Especially if your creator wills such a thing?”

Addam’s brows pinched into a glare. He could hear the faint trickle of amusement in the other’s words, the curious lilt while the gleaming silver eyes regarded him with just a twinge more curiosity. His next words sealed this gamble of fate he took.

“With all due respect to the Architect, I make my own fate. As do the people of Alrest, with each day we live and breathe.”

Unnoticed by Addam, the silver-haired boy's smile became a bit more genuine.

“Ah, apologies but I...haven’t actually gotten your name yet,” Addam says awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head in what might have been a sheepish display of forgetfulness on his part. 

“You may call me...Alvis.”

~//~

(“_ Hey, are you okay?” _

Molten-gold eyes peer into his with worry that’s not supposed to be there because they’re strangers and yet, at the same time, they weren’t. He’d been her impromptu anchor and she’s been in his dreams.

“_ Who exactly...are you?” _

“I am Ontos. What about you?”

“I am Phuema,” she says without ever moving her eyes from him; an urge fills her and she decides to go along with it, unfamiliar warmth surging with the flow of ether in her veins, she barely has time to be embarrassed before she is running and colliding with him in the form of a fierce hug. 

“Oh,” he says and for a split second she savors that she might’ve caught him off guard.

Otherwise her head remains tucked against his chest. His presence working like a balm to relieve her of the anxiety when she thought she was alone. She never wanted to let go.

“_ Brother _,” the title is said with a surprising amount of reverence to it. “I’m so glad you’re here with me.”)

Mythra opens her eyes, silent and stares at the surrounding green fields on the back of whatever titan she was on. She wishes they were silver instead, preferably, like a finely polished plate of steel. Leaving her with an insatiable urge for...what exactly?

She didn’t know, and it frustrated her to no end. “Soon. Very soon.” She whispered resting both hands over the glittering emerald crystal on her chest.

They had never met outside of their shared dreams of Elysium. The question is always at the tip of her tongue but she holds back _ how are you doing _ seeing him hovering close to one of the humans, who Mythra learns is named Addam, prince of Torna and Ontos’ new driver.

Mythra doesn’t give into whatever ugly emotions stir beneath her skin, glaring with hateful eyes. Barking out orders and devising a plan to separate them. She didn’t like the way his hand lingered on Ontos’ shoulder like that.

Only _ she _was allowed to touch him.

Only _ she _was allowed to say his name like that.

Only _ she _was allowed to get close to him.

Only _ she _could stand as his equal, no one else.

Their swords meet in midair and sparks fly from the sheer power radiating off of them. And Mythra is partially surprised she can’t stop smiling, not when he’s _ so close _after so many years apart. His silver eyes locked to her golden ones.

He looks very much the same as when they first met, same silver eyes and hair; Only now, much like her, there seemed to be a deep icy quality to him. He didn’t smile when she greeted him either, barely cracking a smirk.

He was more distant now. Aloof. Unreadable.

The thought unsettled her, left her feeling more hurt than angry looking for someone to blame. Her enraged eyes swerved along the battlefield settling on Addam blinded by the sudden sense of _ loss _.

Alvis saw how her tiara glowed with a radiant light, blinding all others. Immediately moving to intercept-

“** _Sir Addam_ **!!”

~//~

Milton remembers the day he first met Alvis, the other aegis, clearly; how his silver eyes sparkled under the light of the sun and the confident, aloof way he carried himself, like a sword waiting to be unsheathed.

His eyes are what Milton focuses on the most and how they seem to darken in correspondence to his mood. He seldom smiled with his lips, the opposite of Addam, but it’s his eyes that shine instead displaying a radiance that made everyone else smile right back at him. His tone of voice always polite, if a little _ too _reserved at times.

Still, when compared to Mythra who showed no remorse for destroying his home and killing his parents, Milton welcomed the vast difference; Addam trusted him, so Milton would too.

“** _Sir Addam_ **!!”

He couldn’t stop himself from yelling, feeling the rough shove of the prince’s hand. A deep horror that was very nearly awe had stolen over him when he looked up and was blinded by light-it was the kind of feelings usually reserved for only his worst nightmares, ones where his parents charred bodies and desolate eyes would haunt him.

Then he met prince Addam and the nightmares seemed to stop.

“_ It’s alright now. I’m so sorry for everything that’s happened to you. _”

The memory of their first meeting replaying in his head as he fell back, the space between him and Addam growing wider. The fallen soldier he’d been helping lay wounded on his side, barely breathing. He wouldn’t last much longer.

‘_ Help, somebody! Sir Addam is- _’ Milton thought, not wanting to lose another precious person.

Then, as if the Architect himself chose to respond, Mythra’s light was shattered-blotted out by another intense burst of ether energy that left the air thrumming with power. 

“_ What _!?” Milton could barely make out the blonde Aegis’ shriek of outrage, too busy reveling in the fact that both he and Sir Addam had just been miraculously spared. Lifting his tear-filled eyes he found Alvis now standing between them and Mythra, sword at the ready.

“_ Alvis _…” Milton didn’t think he’d ever said a name with such reverence to it, aside from maybe Sir Addam.

“Alvis…” Addam's tired voice overtook his own, looking ahead towards the golden-haired aegis that was their opponent, “what’s the situation? Have they finished with evacuation efforts yet?”

Alvis nodded. “As I suspected, Mythra dispatched a squad of Sirens to intercept them.” Milton’s face paled at that tidbit of information, not even wanting to imagine going up against _ one _of those awful things! “I dealt with them as you requested,” Alvis informed cooly.

“Good.” Addam said, somehow mustering the strength to stand once more stepping beside Alvis. “We need to drive back Mythra, _ now _.”

Milton didn’t really notice until after the battle had ended, taking cover along with the wounded while Addam and Alvis drove Mythra into a corner, but...Alvis didn’t have a single wound on him.

  
‘ _ Didn’t he say he took on several of those Siren things alone _?’ Milton thought, baffled.


End file.
